After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

She stood up and walked into the tram stop.

The signpost on the tram she was on indicated that the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Conservatory of Music was in that direction.

--------

Looking at the gate of Shengxiang Music Academy in front of her, Yue was filled with emotion. It had been almost half a year since she dropped out of Shengxiang.

I originally thought that I would not return here again unless I was invited to watch the performance, but I didn't expect that I would come back twice this month alone.

Yue sighed softly, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.

She recalled her time at Shengxiang, the days of rehearsing, studying, and striving with her friends. Although she sometimes felt tired and frustrated, she felt more fulfilled and satisfied.

"But those are all things of the past..." Yue thought to herself.

After reminiscing about the past, she was about to step into the school when she was stopped by security personnel at the gate.

"Hey you over there, you're not a student at Shengxiang, are you? School's over now. Unless it's urgent, we can't let you in." The security guard was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, and her tone was professionally serious.

Yue blinked blankly, a look of surprise on her face.

She pointed to herself and said to the security guard in front of her, "Auntie, don't you recognize me? I came to the Sacred Fest a while ago, and I even spoke to you."

"Hmm?" The security guard frowned slightly, put on her glasses, and leaned closer to examine Hinasaki closely. A hint of confusion flashed in her eyes, followed by a look of sudden realization. "Oh! I remember now, that transfer student from before."

"R-Right...right?" Hinasaki seemed a little embarrassed by being directly asked to transfer schools. Her face flushed slightly, and her fingers nervously clenched the hem of her clothes. She put on an acting act, with a pleading tone in her voice, "Can I go in now? I want to find my old classmates."

Just when Yue thought she could finally enter the school, the security guard shook her head and stopped her again.

Her expression turned serious, and her tone became firm. "No! You're no longer a student at Shengxiang, so I can't let you in. You should call them to come pick you up and register."

A hint of helplessness flashed across Yue's face, but she wanted to try again. Her eyes naturally conveyed a pleading expression, "Auntie, could you please make an exception? I really have something urgent..."

The security guard's gaze remained firm as she gently shook her head. "I'm sorry, these are the rules. I'm just following the regulations."

Yue nodded helplessly, took out her phone, and prepared to call Yurisaki Aoi.

--------

Inside the classroom of the Seisho Music Academy's student council, Yuri Saki Aoi was watching an instructional video on her phone while examining the matcha powder in front of her.

Compared to last year, the classroom is much cleaner this year; at least the documents piled on the tables are neatly arranged.

Yurisaki Aoi sat at a table near the window, carefully pouring matcha powder into a small bowl and gently stirring it with a bamboo whisk, her face focused. A video was playing on her phone; she would glance at the screen every now and then before looking down to continue.

Behind her, Hayami Ai, the student council president of Seisho, quietly walked over.

"Aoi, are you researching matcha?" Hayami Ai asked softly, her voice gentle.

Yuri Saki, who was originally focused on her studies, was startled by the student council president's voice behind her.

She turned her head abruptly, a hint of surprise in her eyes, and almost dropped the tea whisk in her hand.

A blush quickly rose to her face, and her tone carried a hint of nervousness and explanation, "Ah... recently the class play has a scene related to tea ceremony, so I wanted to do some research on it. Of course, I've completed all my student council work."

Hayami Ai smiled slightly, gently patted Aoi's shoulder, and her eyes showed a hint of tenderness and concern. "Don't be nervous. How are you getting used to being the vice president now?"

Aoi nodded, but her words were full of resentment. "Although at first I often felt overwhelmed by those proposals that were completely unfeasible, it got much better after I got used to it."

Hayami Ai nodded in satisfaction, a look of relief on her face. "That's good. I was worried that you, Aoi-chan, might choose to quit the student council because of the heavy workload. I can't find someone as strong as you before graduation."

Upon hearing this, Aoi's face immediately showed a resentful expression. She pouted, her eyes revealing a hint of helplessness and grievance, "So, it turns out I was drafted by you, President. Why did I even join the student council in the first place?"

Hayami Ai smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

She made a gesture like a bear spreading its paws, her hands gently open, her eyes filled with a hint of innocence and playfulness. "Anyway, I probably didn't force you to join the student council. I remember that it was Tsuki and Momo who came with you."

"We are stage girls."

Just then, the matcha tutorial video suddenly started to freeze, and then the familiar phone ringtone sounded.

Aoi glanced at the caller ID, then looked at the president with some surprise. A smile replaced the resentful look on her face. "Speak of the devil, and he appears. Yue is calling."

--------

"Pfft... Hahahaha... Hahahaha." Yuri Saki Aoi clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she was doubled over, tears even welling up in her eyes.

"I never thought... that the top student we were ranked first upon entering the school, and later the second-best, would now be barred from entering the school... hahaha." Her words were broken and intermittent, clearly because she was out of breath from laughing too hard.

In front of the gates of Seisho Music Academy, Hinasaki looked speechlessly at Yurisaki Aoi, who was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. Her brows furrowed slightly, a hint of helplessness and embarrassment in her eyes. Her lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but the other's laughter rendered her speechless.

An embarrassed blush crept onto Yue's face. She pouted slightly, her gaze darting around. She coughed softly, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Aoi, stop laughing. I had no choice but to be stopped."

Yuri Saki finally managed to stop laughing, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, but her face still held an uncontrollable smile. She was slightly out of breath, trying to calm herself down, "I'm sorry, Tsuki-chan, it was just too funny, but I didn't expect that the reason you called me was because you were stopped at the school gate and couldn't get in."

Yue said helplessly, "I never expected it to turn out like this."

Kui finally calmed down, a warm smile on her face. She gently patted Yue's shoulder, a hint of concern in her eyes, "Alright, alright, I won't laugh at you anymore. Who are you looking for? I'll help you make the contact."

Yue glanced at Kui with a hint of annoyance and said, "I'm here to see you about what happened yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Aoi's smile froze instantly. Her eyes widened slightly, and she blinked in surprise. "Looking for me? About yesterday?" Her tone revealed a hint of confusion and doubt, clearly not expecting Yue to have come specifically to see her.

Aoi quickly recalled what had happened yesterday. "Oh—you came to see the proposal that Momoko submitted?"

Yue nodded, and added, "I'd also like to visit your dorm while I'm at it, is that alright?"

Aoi quickly understood Yue's intention and nodded gently. "I have no questions. Yue, do you want to know if Momo has been learning a musical instrument? If she has, I should be able to find some clues."

Yue shook her head. Ever since that strange idea yesterday, she had been thinking about where she could hide her musical instruments without being discovered. It wasn't until this morning that she thought of a place, so she made the decision to return to Shengxiang.

Her words carried a hint of worry: "Actually, there are still places where Peach can practice, and they're quite close by. It's just that you might not have noticed them yet."

Kui frowned slightly, her eyes revealing a hint of confusion and bewilderment.

Her mind raced, trying to find the place Yue had mentioned, but to no avail. "Huh? Really? Why can't I think of such a place?"

She couldn't think of anywhere that could provide a place for Peach to hide the musical instrument. After all, it was a musical instrument, and its size was definitely not something that would be overlooked if seen normally.

When the Stage Opens: Chapter 136 Return to Shengxiang (Part 2)

Aoi led Yue all the way to the Seisho Student Council and pushed open the door to the student council office.

Hayami Ai, who had just watched Aoi leave, looked up from her book when she heard the door open. When she saw Tsuki standing in the doorway, a bright smile instantly bloomed on her face.

"Oh my, isn't this Tsukishiro?" Hayami Ai put down her book, stood up and walked towards Tsukishiro, her tone full of joy and surprise.

Her eyes sparkled with warmth and welcome, as if she were seeing an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time.

But Yue always felt that the way the other person looked at her was like they were conscripting someone.

Her smile grew even brighter. "Do you want to transfer back to this school?" she said half-jokingly, her tone tinged with a hint of mischief and anticipation.

Hayami Ai walked up to Tsuki and gently patted her shoulder. Her gaze shifted between Tsuki and Aoi, and she had a smile on her face as she was about to retire. "Then I will immediately step down and give the position of student council president to Aoi. Tsuki, you will be the vice president of the student council."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Yue felt a little ashamed and thought to herself, "It seems my feeling was indeed correct... So, Hayami-senpai has been wanting to quit for a long time..."

"Oh dear... Hayami-senpai, you still love to joke around as always." Tsuki said to Hayami Ai with a smile, taking it all as just a joke.

The president's face turned serious, and his eyes showed a hint of sincerity. "I'm not joking, Xiaoyue, are you really not going to consider it?"

Yue shook her head, waving her hands in front of her as she firmly apologized, "No, no, I'm doing fine in Yuqiu now."

Seeing that Yue had refused her invitation, Hayami Ai's face showed disappointment, and the corners of her mouth drooped slightly, clearly indicating that she was very regretful.

Aoi, who was standing to the side, spoke up, "Hayami-senpai, Tsuki has something to do this time."

Hearing Aoi's words, Hayami Ai's expression immediately turned aggrieved. She pulled out a white handkerchief from somewhere, gently biting it against her lips, her eyes revealing a pitiful look. "Sigh... As soon as Yue came back, Aoi, you couldn't wait to go to the door to greet her, leaving your student council president alone in the student council." Her tone was tinged with grievance and coquettishness.

However, it was common knowledge that Seisho was a master of acting. Yue and Aoi skillfully ignored Hayami Ai, who was pretending to be pitiful, and walked to the empty desk.

Seeing that both Tsuki and Aoi were ignoring her, Hayami Ai sighed softly and put away her handkerchief. "Alright, Tsuki. Since you have something urgent to attend to, then take care of your business first. If you need any help, just let me know."

"Thank you so much, senior. I'll let you know if I really need anything," Yue said, nodding.

Aoi skillfully found the proposal that Momoko had submitted yesterday from the pile of files on the desktop and handed it to Yue.

Her movements were swift and practiced, clearly indicating she knew the placement of the documents perfectly. "Yesterday I thought no band would accept this proposal, but after searching for those bands' outrageous actions, I just feel... that Peach's proposal seems perfectly normal." Her tone carried a hint of helplessness and surprise, and her eyes flashed with disbelief.

Upon hearing Aoi's words, Yue abruptly looked up from her proposal, her eyes revealing a hint of confusion and surprise. "Huh?" She was genuinely surprised that Aoi would say it was perfectly normal for a band to perform in a stage play.

Aoi sighed softly, shook her head, and said with a hint of emotion in her eyes, "Yes, although it seemed strange at first, look at the news about these bands."

"Ah..." But after carefully considering the various band rumors she had heard before, she felt that they seemed to make sense.

Suddenly, Aoi remembered something, a hint of curiosity and anticipation flashing in her eyes. She turned slightly to the side, gently patted Yue's shoulder, and asked, "Speaking of which, Yue, you're in a band now, right? I heard about it from Siegfried. Why didn't you invite us to your performance?"

"This..." Yue paused slightly upon hearing the question, an awkward expression appearing on her face. Her brows furrowed gently, a hint of confusion and hesitation in her eyes. As she pondered how to answer Aoi's question, her gaze unconsciously wandered around the room.

After all, she couldn't very well tell them that she had previously fought a Revue with Momoko, and that she hadn't invited them because she didn't know how to face Momoko, and also to prevent Momoko from doing anything strange again. A complex emotion flashed in Yue's eyes, and her lips twitched slightly, showing a hint of helplessness and embarrassment.

"If I had known this would happen, I definitely should have invited Aoi and the others." She sighed inwardly, her embarrassment becoming even more pronounced.

"Moon?" Yuri Saki Aoi looked at Moon, who had suddenly fallen silent, and asked, somewhat puzzled.

Yue said, "I'm fine... Something happened in the band back then, and I was worried that our performance would fail, so I didn't invite Aoi and the others."

As she looked at the proposal written by Peach, she said, "In fact, some things did happen at the last performance, and the controversy is still ongoing."

Yuri Saki quickly realized that Yue had suddenly come to Seisho to see the proposal Momoko had written, and that the two things were probably related.

After hesitating for a moment, she asked in the air, "Could it be that Peach's proposal was submitted to Yue Ni's band?"

Yue, who had been engrossed in reading the proposal written by Momoko, looked up and glanced at Aoi with some surprise.

A hint of surprise and confusion flashed in her eyes, and her brows furrowed slightly. "Aoi, why would you think that?" Her voice was filled with confusion and curiosity, clearly not expecting Aoi to make such a conjecture.

Aoi lowered her head slightly, thought for a moment, then looked up and stared directly at Yue, saying, "Because you suddenly came to Seisho and were so interested in Momo's proposal, it reminds me of your current band. Coupled with what you mentioned before, I think it's very likely."

Yue shook her head, rejecting Kui's conjecture, a hint of apology and helplessness on her face. "Although Kui's idea makes a lot of sense, unfortunately, that's not the case." Her voice was firm and apologetic.

Her gaze remained fixed on the proposal in front of her, her brows slightly furrowed, a complex mix of thoughts in her eyes. She was weighing whether or not to tell Aoi about it, because it wouldn't be good if Giraffe dragged Yurisaki Aoi into the new audition later.

After all, the winner of this competition, Top Star, could very well steal their spotlight. It was a rare treat that Peach's wish didn't take away their brilliance. If this problem arose because she came to help her, she would feel extremely guilty.

Seeing the conflicted expression on Yue's face, Kui sighed softly, her eyes showing understanding and comfort. She gently patted Yue's shoulder, her voice gentle yet firm, "It's alright. If there's anything you can't tell me, Yue doesn't have to say it. I believe Yue won't do anything bad."

Yue nodded, a grateful smile appearing on her face. She continued to look down at the proposal in front of her, while recalling her earlier conversation with Xiangzi. The band project proposal that Xiangzi had mentioned came to mind, and she compared it with Taozi's proposal, carefully considering every detail.

Her brow furrowed slightly, and a thoughtful glint appeared in her eyes. Her fingers lightly traced the pages of the proposal, her thoughts racing through her mind, gradually connecting all the clues.

Finally, Yue closed the proposal and returned it to Kui. Kui took the proposal and skillfully placed it back into the pile of documents on the table. Her movements were light and practiced, clearly indicating that she knew the location of these documents perfectly.

Seeing the knowing look on Yue's face, Kui couldn't help but ask curiously, "Do you already have an answer?" Her voice was filled with expectation and concern, and her eyes revealed a hint of curiosity.

Yue nodded, her eyes thoughtful. "It's about time. I've pieced together some of the clues. Now, I'd like to trouble Aoi to take me back to the Starlight Dormitory. I want to confirm one last thing."